


the thing about cool ranch doritos

by celebrityskin



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: 1990s, Alternate Universe - 1990s, HISPANIC JACK KELLY, M/M, New York City, jack is a dumb bicth, miss medda is a bad bicth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 02:44:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19122967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celebrityskin/pseuds/celebrityskin
Summary: Jack Kelly started living with Medda Larkin after his parents got arrested for being in possession of cocaine. He often helps out in her theatre, in which one day he meets the new light tech, Davey. Jack owes Albert money, he has to spy on Race to see what he’s doing with that Brooklyn boy, and he has to get a job. And guess who’s at that job? Davey. They start off not liking each other, but then Jack accidentally falls in love. Whoops. Jack is in denial, so Race helps him out.





	1. The New Kid

**Author's Note:**

> It’s been a while since I’ve touched this fic, but I’m currently working on the second chapter. So don’t worry ig??

I sat above the audience in the catwalk, staring down at Ms. Medda singing her heart out. I’ve seen this performance about a million times, but I still. She is a goddess when she sings. I tried to eat my Doritos a quietly as I could. Even with the quietest of crunches, I still heard a  _ ‘shhh!’  _ from about ten feet away from me on the catwalk.

I turned to see a boy, about my age, adjusting the lights. He is definitely new. 

I crunched louder on a chip just to spite him. He scoffed and continued to fix the light and then walked right past me to the other side. What a fucker.    __

I turned my attention back to Ms. Medda. Now she was singing a jazz version of _ Life On Mars?  _ by David Bowie. After the show, the boy came up to me.

“I can’t believe how disrespectful you are!” he hissed. I immediately could feel the Star Wars VHSes that he probably owns and the Dungeons and Dragons books. He’s definitely a huge geek. 

“No one could hear me, beside Ms. Medda wouldn’t give a shit. Trust me, I live with her,” I argued.

“You live with her?”

“Yeah. She took me in after—“ I paused. “You know what? I don’t really care to share my entire life story to you.”

“Okay… I get that. But still. Don’t you think it’s a little disrespectful to loudly be eating chips while a performance is going on?”

“No? And it wasn’t even  _ that  _ loud.”

“Well, sorry. It’s my first day. I’m kinda nervous.”

“Hey, it’s cool.” Not really. “Do you want a tour?” I don’t really want to give you a tour. 

“Already got one from one of the stage crew. I think his name was Racecar? Something like that,”

Thank god. “Racetrack. We just call him Race, though. He’s cool.”

He nodded. Then I heard Ms. Medda calling for me.

“Gotta go, bye.” I turned and walked away. I think he said something, but I could have been hearing things.

\----------

That night, I couldn’t sleep that well.

I kind of felt bad for being mean. I didn’t even get his name. I’m sure I’ll see him at the next show on Saturday. That’s a long time. If it weren’t summer, I’m sure it would be a lot easier to find him. And it’s not like New York is a small place where I can find people easily. Why am I obsessing over him? He’s the exact opposite of me. He’s uptight, not cool at all, and probably reads for fun. Who reads for fun? Nerds. So, not me because I’m cool. 

I slept in until 11 am. I would’ve slept longer, but Ms. Medda made me get out of the house. These were her exact words: “Boy, get your lazy ass out of this apartment! You are 17 and it is the summer. Make the most of it because I know for a  _ fact  _ that you will be missing these times!”

Yeah. So I quickly put on actual clothes, grabbed a banana, and basically got shoved out the door. I climbed down the stairs and went out the door out into the particularly bright day. Should’ve brought sunglasses. I checked my back pocket, praying that my wallet was still there from yesterday. And it wasn’t. 

What a start to the day. I guess I have to walk. I started walking towards Broadway. Not because I want to see a show, (I couldn’t afford it anyway) but because I just like to people watch. On the way I passed by a library and walking out of it with a stack of books, was _ the guy _ . He tripped on the stairs and dropped his books.

“You okay?” I asked sarcastically from the bottom of the stairs. 

“Stop being a dick and help me,” he said. 

I acted offended. “Wow. That’s a lot coming from the guy who told me to eat my Doritos more quieter.”

“It’s quieter or more quiet. But not more quieter. That’s not grammatically cor—“

“Whatever.” I kneeled and picked up a few of his books. “If you want I could help you carry these to your home.”

“I can do it myself,” he assured. 

“You won’t last another block without dropping these books.”

“Okay, fine.” He rolled his eyes and started walking down the sidewalk. 

“You were the one who asked me to help you!” I yelled from behind him. “ _ Stop being a dick and help me! _ ” I mocked him. “Those were your exact words.” 

He kept walking, taking unbelievably long strides. Like,  _ damn _ , those are some long legs! He’s very scrawny. The only walking he probably does is from his house to the library. The only lifting he probably does his carrying books. He’s such a nerd. It’s hilarious. 

We got to his apartment and he said, “I got it from here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“You just don’t want me to see your apartment?”

“I don’t know you. I don’t know your name. Why would I let you see my apartment?”

“My name’s Jack. Jack Kelly.”

“Still not letting you in.”

“I’m incredibly good with the ladies, my favorite president is Teddy Roosevelt, and I like long walks on the beach.”

He just stared at me.

“Why can’t I come in?” I whined. 

“I don’t need you hitting on my sister.”

“You have a sister? Well, if she looks anything like you, I don’t think we’ll have a problem.” 

He sighed and took the books out of my hands. He went inside, leaving me on the sidewalk. What a jerk. 

I decided that I should just go to the record store. You know, just to listen. Maybe steal a CD if I can. Depends if Albert is working. He’d let me get away with it. I walked a couple blocks and got to DaSilva Records. I walked in and heard Pearl Jam playing on the speakers. He must be working then. The store was bare. I didn’t see Albert anywhere.

“Albert? Are you here?” I shouted.

Suddenly he whipped up from behind a record display with a staple gun and shot at me, almost nailing me in the face. 

“ _ Jesucristo _ !  _ Qué demonios _ ! ”

“Two inches.”

“Did you risk my life just so you could make a Pretty in Pink reference?”

“Yep.” He walked over to the counter, lifted himself on top, and fixed his backwards dad cap. “Whatcha lookin’ for?”

“Well, Miss. Medda kicked me out of the house for the day and I left my wallet at home, so I wondering if we could listen to R.E.M.?”

“Oh, that sucks, but do you know what doesn’t suck?” Albert asked.

I raised an eyebrow.

“We just got a new R.E.M. record in.” Albert smirked.

“Oh dude! Put in on!” 

Albert jumped off the counter and went in to the back. He came back with an orange record with a blurry drawing of an animals face on it. It said Monster in the corner. He took the record out and placed it on the nearest record player and carefully placed the needle down. 

Guitar and then: 

_ "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" is your Benzedrine, uh-huh _

_ I was brain-dead, locked out, numb, not up to speed _

_ I thought I'd pegged you an idiot's dream _

_ Tunnel vision from the outsider's screen _

The only time any of us said anything was when a customer came in asked about a Stevie Wonder record. The record was amazing. I expected no less from R.E.M. although if Miss Medda heard the language, she’d burn all of the CDs I have.

“Have you already listened to it?” I asked. 

“Nah, I wanted to wait for you.” 

“Albert? Being considerate of others? Incredible!” I exclaimed. 

“You’re pushing it.”

I laughed. “Ok, ok. Do you have the CD?”

“You said you left your wallet at home.”

“I’ll you back,”

“You are like $60 in debt with me. And CDs don’t cost that much.”

“I’ll get it eventually!”

“Pay it off and you can get the CD,”

“You have my word,” I started walking towards the door.

“And—“ 

I stopped in my tracks.

“I need you to find out what’s happening between Race and that Brooklyn dude,” Albert said. 

“What?”

“Race has been going over to Brooklyn all the time lately. It seemed suspicious, so I followed him down there. I saw him with Spot Conlon.  _ The _ Spot Conlon. I don’t know he’s some kind of supplier or something to Race, but they were being very secretive. I need you to find out what’s happening.”

“Okay. I’ll find out what’s up with your boyfriend. And pay you back.”

“Thank you and he’s not my boyfriend. You may leave.”

I finger gunned him and walked out the door. I looked up at a nearby clock and saw that it was 12:30. I figured I could save the “investigation” for tomorrow. I headed back to the apartment for lunch. 

Then I saw Race descending down the stairs to the subway. I was about to follow him, then I realized that I still don’t have my MetroCard. Whelp. I trudged on down the sidewalk. I forgot how far the apartment is from DaSilva Records. It took about 25 minutes to get back. I loudly knocked on the door (no key). 

“Coming!” Miss. Medda yelled from inside. She opened the door to see me. “Didn’t I tell you to go and enjoy the summer?”

“I left my wallet so I can’t go on the subway and I just walked all the way from the DaSilva’s store. I feel like my feet are going to break if I walk any longer.”

“Fine. Get in here. But I don’t wanna hear any more whining from you today, okay?”

“Yes ma'am.” I said as I sauntered in and collapsed on the couch. 

“So, what’d you do today?” she asked as she started making lunch. 

“Helped the new light tech get his books to his apartment, listened to the new R.E.M. album, and found out I owe $60 to Albert and I have to be a spy for him.”

“Sixty dollars?!”

“Yeah.”

“For what?”

“CDs.”

“For heaven’s sake Jack. If you would just get a job, this would all be avoided! Even your friend Romeo has a job and he’s lazy as all hell,” Medda lectured. “That’s the only way you’re going to pay off your debt because Lord knows you are  _ not _ getting the money from me.”

“What? Come on! You said I need to go out this summer and have fun because you said I would miss it and stuff!”

“You’ll have plenty of time! I’m not making you work a full time desk job.” Medda said. “Part time at the Barnes and Noble near here.”

“What? Really? Barnes and Noble? Why not McDonalds? Or Burger King?”

“Barnes and Noble.”

I groaned and went to my room and heard Ms. Medda shout after me. “Boy, don’t you groan at me or I will return all of those CDs you love so much!”

I slammed the door. 

“Boy, I swear to god  if you slam that door one more time I will take that door off its hinges!”

Jesus. I am fucked. 


	2. Brooklyn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack gets a job and he goes to Brooklyn

I ended up  giving in and applying to work at Barnes and Noble, as much as I do not want to do it. It was surprisingly easy to get the job. I said I’m a hard worker and they believed me. I  _ am  _ a hard worker, trust me. I always do pretty good in school actually. I just don’t want anyone to  _ know  _ that. I gotta keep it cool. 

I waited in the back for the person who was going to train me. This guy named Davey. 

The door opened and I looked up. 

“Oh good lord,” the man said. It was Davey. Who was also the nerd. 

“What? You ain’t happy to see me?” I whined. 

“Why did you get a job here?  _ How _ did you get a job in general?” he asked. 

“I’m a hard worker, what can I say? Besides I owe someone money.” 

“Whelp. No arguing on the job. Rule number one.” He paused. “Not actually. But still.”

“So are you gonna train me or not?”

He waved me to follow him. “Your line for every customer is ‘did you find everything you were looking for?’ and every time you are near a customer entering the store say ‘welcome to Barnes & Noble’  and exiting ‘thank you for shopping at Barnes & Noble’. You got that?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Repeat it back to me.”

“Did you find everything you were looking for? Welcome to Barnes & Noble. Thank you for shopping at Barnes & Noble.”

“Good.” He looked me square in the eye. “Now I’ll show you how to use the register.”

The way he commanded and led me step by step, was almost  _ intimidating _ ? No, it was… I don’t know. It’s something. Definitely not something I expected. 

Later that night I came home, exhausted after everything I learned. Though Davey said I learned really quick and could be at the register on my own in probably a day or two. So that’s good at least. But I still have to spy on Race, don’t I? I’ll do that before work. I can do that right? Right? 

I decided to start by stopping by his apartment. Today I made sure to grab my wallet with with my metrocard. Walking down the stairs to the subway platform, I realized this would be easier than I thought it would be. I saw Race standing, waiting for the next subway. I need to follow him, but I can't be seen. I went for the classic celebrity disguise. I put my baseball cap forward and grabbed my aviators off my shirt to put them on. Now no one will recognize me, right? 

The subway stopped in front of the platform. Race, hands in his pockets, stepped on. I entered on the other side. Not many people were in the car so i sat down on the seat closest to the back. Race sat on the other side. Now to see where he goes. Based on the line we're on, I'd say he's going to Brooklyn. Albert saw him in Brooklyn with Spot Conlon a few days ago. So why is he seeing Conlon all the time? Last time I checked Race was scared of the guy. So  _ why _ ? 

I made sure to try and stay awake the entire way to Brooklyn, keeping my eye on Race the entire time. Why am I doing this? Because I want the R.E.M. CD? Is this worth it? 

Absolutely. 

The car stopped. Race got up. Thank  _ god _ . I slowly followed him out. I made sure to be about ten feet directly behind him so I wouldn't be seen. He turned into an alleyway. I immediately hid behind a dumpster, peeking my head out so i could watch what was happening. 

Race started climbing the fire escape and someone opened a window. It was Spot Conlon. He smiled when he set eyes on Race. I listened closely. 

"Hey baby," Spot said. 

What. 

Race leaned in and they kissed. 

_ What _ . 

Spot pulled Race into the window, as he started taking off his shirt. 

_ WHAT. _

I got out of there. I could not watch anymore. I  _ had  _ to tell Albert. I pretty much ran to the subway and took it back to the record shop. I'm pretty sure he was working that day. 

I through the platform, up the stairs, and down a block into the record shop. I stood at the door, catching my breath. Albert popped up from under the counter. 

“Jack? You good? What happened?” Albert asked. 

“I,”  _ gasp  _ “followed Race,”  _ gasp  _ “and he,”  _ gasp  _ “went to Brooklyn to see Spot Conlon,”  _ gasp  _ “and they kissed.” I collapsed onto the floor and sat indian style. 

Albert’s eyes widened. “They  _ what _ ?”

“They  _ fucking kissed.” _ I practically yelled. “They’re  _ gay. _ ”

Albert sat down with me, not saying anything. 

“It’s crazy I kn—“

He interrupted me. “He’s had so many girlfriends though.”

“He could like both?”

“Is that allowed?”

“Sure. Maybe.”

“He doesn’t act gay.”

“Times are changing, my man.”

“Are you gay?”

“What?! No! Why are you asking me?” 

“Well you don’t act gay either, so I just wanted to make sure.”

“Your logic is weird.” 

We both laughed, but was interrupted by the shop door opening. We turned our heads to see a girl about my age. She had long red hair with bangs and wore a black tank top over a white tee and plaid skirt. She eyed us then just walked past us with her platform shoes. She was like every cool rebel girl in a teen movie. “Who works here?”

Albert popped up off the floor. “I do, sorry, are you loo—“

“Is there anyone else working here?” she asked. 

“...no. It’s just me.” You could tell he felt offended. 

“You know No Doubt?”

“That one ska band with the girl vocalist who has a really weird voice?” 

“Yeah do you have their album? It came out two years ago and I got the CD, but I decided to get the vinyl. You know, they’re coming out with a new album that should be released next year. Hopefully it’s good. Though I  _ honestly  _ cannot wait that long because they are my absolute obsession right now. I could listen to Move On  _ all  _ day…”

I checked my watch. 10:59 am. I have to be at work by 11. Great. One minute. I can make it right?

I sprinted out the door and I heard Albert call my name, but I kept running. 

_ It’s fine. It’s fine. It’ll be okay. It’s your second day and you’re already late for work. You’re going to get fired oh my god.  _

On the subway I kept checking my watch. I definitely not in a position where I can be there on time, but I’m going to try to be as close as possible. 11:01. 11:02. 11:03. I got off at 11:09. Running to the Barnes and Noble took four minutes. Thirteen minutes. 

Davey stood at the register where I should have been 13 minutes ago. He looked disappointed. “It’s your second day man. Try to be here on time.”

He stepped away from the counter and he handed me my name tag. 

“I won’t tell our boss.  _ This  _ time,” he said. I sighed in relief. 

Maybe Davey ain’t that bad after all. 

 


	3. The Date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short, I’ll make it up to y’all in the next chapter

A week has passed and I have not been late to work again. And I’ve been doing well. Davey doesn’t have that look of disappointment every time he sees me anymore.

After work today he even asked if I wanted to grab dinner. And that he’d pay. So of course I said yes. But here was the problem. He said he’d pick me up and he did. He showed up in nice clothing.

“Where are we going that requires a suit and tie, man?” I asked.

His face went red. “Oh, I was thinking we could go to this Italian place I found. It’s kind of fancy, but you don’t have to change if you don’t want to.”

Weird, but okay. “I’ll go change it’s okay. Why don’t you come in?”

He nodded his head, nervously. I led him up the apartment and he said, “I’m sorry, I gave the impression.”

“No, dude. It’s fine. I’m getting free food. That’s all that matters,” I chuckled.

“Oh…” He sounded almost _sad._ I don’t know why, though. I quickly ran into my room and changed. Miss Medda was out. She didn’t tell me why. She just was. Davey waited in the living room. When I came out he was carefully sitting on the couch, not wanting to get comfortable as if he were sitting on the most expensive couch in the world.

“Let’s go, man,” I said.

“Yeah, lets go.”

We took a taxi to this restaurant. It was semi-fancy. Definitely date material. But I guess what we were doing was a ‘great job on working and stuff let me take you out to dinner to show appreciative I am of you’. Right? It wasn’t a date.

We sat at a booth across from each other. He looked nervous. “Why are you nervous?” I asked. “It’s just me.”

“Because it’s you. I’m so nervous around you. All the time. Haven’t you noticed?”

“No? You boss me around at work and during breaks we always pleasant conversations. We’re friends, man. You don’t have to be nervous.”

Davey his head in his hands. “You’re so oblivious. I guess I’m dumb, too. I shouldn’t have done this.”

“What? Why? What’s wrong?”

“This is a date, Jack.”

“Yeah, I kn—“ Oh my god. This is a date. This is a date. Why didn’t I realize this? It was so _obvious._ Wait. Davey is gay? Am I gay? Am I into him? It is pretty cute when he’s bossing me around. And when he’s nervous. Why is this all happening a week after I saw Race and Spot Conlon kiss? Did that somehow awaken something in me? Actually? I don’t care. “I know. I know it’s a date.”

Davey looked up at me, red in the face. “What?”

“I mean I just realized it right now, but I’m fine with it being a date.”

“I didn’t expect that from you, wow, ok. I’m on a date with Jack Kelly.”

I chuckled. “Don’t act like it’s a big deal, jeez. I ain’t that special.”

We both laughed.

The night was great. I had an amazing time and free food. And I also got a date with a boy out of it. That’s the one thing I did not expect out of this night. But it happened.

We took another taxi back to my house and walked me back up to my apartment. We stared at each other in the doorway. “So is this going to be a thing?” I asked.

“Only if you want it to.”

Do I? This has all gone so fast. I feel like I didn’t even have feelings for him until I found out that I was on a date with him. Maybe I’m just caught up in the moment. Maybe that’s not so bad.

I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him into a kiss. Damn this feels good. I guess this _is_ going to be a thing.

Davey pulled away. “I’ve got to get home. But I’m glad you feel the same way.”

Instant guilt.

I waved goodbye and immediately went to my bed. I got so scared that I accidentally led him on. I don’t even know how I feel. I don’t know what to do. Wait it out until I know? No, it would just be harder to end things. Just tell him tonight was a mistake? No, because it wasn’t. Kind of.

I just don’t know.

**Author's Note:**

> Ew this chapter sucks I’m v sorry :/// idk where to go with this boy


End file.
